Traitor
by Runicpower
Summary: Being the secret daughter of the leader of the Alliance, Kyra Wyrnn has lived her life confined and protected from the real world. Early in life it becomes her dream to escape and show her father how powerful and resentful she really is of him. Leading to the unthinkable, leaving Elwynn Forest and joining the Horde with a Blood Elf by her side throughout the journey.
1. Chapter 1

Kyra **Wrynn's** life was one full of solitude and secrecy. Being the daughter of King Varian Wrynn did not bode well for her, due to the fact that he saw fit to have her existence a secret and unknown to anyone save for a few of his royal guards and some old servants. He feared that if the horde or any other opposing forces discovered her existence they would try to capture her and use her as leverage against the Alliance. This resulted in her being escorted at the age of five to a small cottage in the mountains and hills of Elwynn Forest southeast of Stormwind, with only the stoic guards and an old servant as company. She was deprived of a proper childhood and spent her days sitting at the edge of the nearby lake daydreaming of freedom and becoming a great warrior.

**Kyra's POV:**

(15 years later)

The fresh spring air gave a happy atmosphere to the day ahead. New growth appearing everywhere around Elwynn Forest, the lush green foliage giving everything a healthy glow. Birds chirping almost gave the illusion that this was a place to be enjoyed. Although not for me, not when you are kept prisoner in your own land by a king who only had his own selfish interests at hand, a man who refused to see even his own daughter.

I hid behind the tree in front of the small house I was confined to. Two of the guards were sparring and I watched with a hunger in my eyes. They parried and dodged, thrust and swung, while I could tell they weren't the most seasoned of fighters, my options were limited when it came to opportunities to learn how to fight. The old servant I was under the care of refused to allow me to interact with the guards or leave the area around the house. Although for the moment the old hag was sleeping away like she did every afternoon, leaving me with free time to myself that she didn't need to know about. It was my biggest dream to become one of the greatest warriors known, and I refused to let the fact that I was the kings daughter slow me down. Every day for the past few years I hid behind this tree and observed the guards closely,memorizing their every move,sometimes practicing by myself with a nearby fallen stick.

My days consisted of waking up early to watch the guards,sneaking back to the cottage to preform mindless domestic tasks, watching the guards, practicing alone, and falling back to the house claiming to be resting by the lake. Pretty boring, although it was the best I could do while being constantly monitored and kept under guard.

While at first I just wanted to become a great warrior, a new hatred began to take root in my mind. I started to realize that my constant solitude and confinement wasn't my fault, but the king's. The Savior of our land they called him, the man who brought the Alliance together and has been battling the fearsome Horde. No he was a coward who couldn't even protect his own daughter so her sends her away with guards and a servant to do the job for him. I refused to acknowledge the man as my father any more, after years of asking when daddy was going to come see me when I was younger, I gave up and started to feel resentment towards him. Soon hatred filled the empty and cavernous holes in my heart, and all wanted was to see the man and his kingdom fall. Although the only way that I could do this was to become someone who could fight and be of value.

I struck the makeshift sword into the tree as hard as I could, splintering the small piece of wood in half. "This is pointless" I thought to myself, "There is no way that I can become a great warrior by watching some useless excuses for guards play fight every day of my life." Unfortunately it wasn't like I could simply waltz into an academy and demand to be trained with no money on me and the King going on a rampage trying to find me.

Glancing skywards I noted that it was starting to become dark outside and knew that I would have to creep back to the cottage and act like I was doing something ladylike and proper.

I lay awake that night thinking of what I could do to learn to become a fearsome warrior who would take down the heartless king of Stormwind, and how I would become the greatest traitor of the Alliance ever known.

**Ardeth's POV:**

" Yes,I will need a weeks worth of provisions, and while your at it I will need someone to repair all of this armor, I'm afraid it banged up pretty badly in that last scuffle over in Warsong Gulch, damned dwarf just kept on swinging that mace so hard I'm surprised I don't have my head bashed in." I said

"Yeah yeah whatever you want." The Goblin replied, a bored look on his face. "That'll be 160 gold pieces"

" What! Are you crazy? I mean yeah the breastplate could use some work,but 160 gold that's just downright robbery in disguise!

"Take it or leave it, no money, no deal." The goblin stated. Two brutish orcs came up behind the Goblin and I had no doubt that they would call the whole marketplace down on me if I started something.

"Fine but my armor better come back spotless and not a dent left in it, or so help me!" I yelled at him

"Filthy, greedy goblins." I muttered as I stalked away, my bags being a considerable amount lighter. This journey was costing a lot, in the past few days I had spent over 500 precious gold pieces and had haggled with some not so reputable sources. All because of my hunger for adventure and ending the Alliance I ended up in agreeing to go terrorize Goldshire in Elwynn Forest. This was not advised by the warchief, although I was getting bored of border skirmishes and wanted to jump right into the middle of the fray. So I managed to convince him that I could also gather information from the locals while under disguise and trick a few drunkards into spilling their secrets. While that was normally a rouges job the warchief seem to agree that this mission did have some value to it as long as I gathered some useful information. (Although he did not mention that I would have to pay for the entire journey myself).

While I have no problem with ending the miserable alliance scum lives, I don't enjoy the journey all the way to Elwynn Forest. Mostly because it includes paying gold (yet again) for a portal to the Blasted Lands( A terribly arid and hot place),flying across Duskwood( A terribly creepy and gloomy place) and then finally getting into Elwynn Forest ( A everyone wants to kill you place).

So all in all this was not a very enjoyable journey and not for the light of heart. Which is why I loved it so much, it was a challenge worthy of a seasoned paladin such as myself. The thing that made me so underestimated is that my enemies thought that I would spare them or try to only harm them as little as possible. Although the ones who I was trained under did not exactly follow the virtues of the light. I had learned that with enough power it is possible to disobey the blessed virtues and act as a bloodthirsty warrior, with perks such as healing and being able to wield the light for the good of the Horde and the downfall of the Alliance.

Checking into a nearby inn, I decided that I would head to the Drag tomorrow and depart from Orgrimmar and begin my journey of releasing some of my pent up anger on the unsuspecting citizens of Goldshire, while getting paid to find some information to benefit the rest of the Horde.

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><p><strong>Okay so how was chapter 1? Please let me know what you guys think by reviewing and any and all constructive criticism is welcome. <strong>


	2. The Royal Seal

** Wow! I am so sorry at the time it actually took me to get around to coming back to the whole world of Fanfiction. I mean seriously, a whole new expansion set found the time to come into existence before this next chapter did! My life has just been crazy busy the past few months, I have had about next to zero free time. High School slowly kills you from the inside, trust me! I promise that I will never go so long without updating again! You guys are too awesome for that! So without further delay here is the next chapter!**

**Ardeth's POV:**

"You would think it'd be easier to find a mage who can spare the time to just make a simple portal to the blasted lands!" I grumbled to myself while pacing up and down the streets and alleyways of Orgrimmar. For the past hour and a half I had been asking every mage like citizen if they could make a portal for me, although each one had replied with an annoyed glare exclaiming that they were and I quote, "Not a bloody taxi service!" I even offered them gold and they still turned the other cheek and kept on walking with their pristine robes fluttering around them. 'Robes that could not serve as one ounce of protection against my sword!' I randomly pointed out to myself.

My bronze drake who I was taking along with me on the journey sighed, blowing the dust of the city around him. I rescued him from a cruel master when some of my fellow horde members and I were ordered to cleanse strathholme of the plagues that inhabited it. I later decided to name him Vortex, and he has been with me ever since.

I saw my chance! A small goblin mage was walking past and I all but threw a handful of gold at them, begging for a portal. Naturally, they asked for more gold and in a few short chants I was on my way, mounting Vortex, we stepped into the portal.

I felt something slam into me near seconds after we had gone through the portal. "What the...!" I exclaimed, it turns out a dwarf hunter took it upon himself to be one of those extremely annoying citizens of Azeroth, that feels the need to set up a campfire near a common portal spot and shoot anything that walks through. I kicked at the boar that was currently attacking my legs with its tusks and directed a bolt of light towards the hunter, momentarily stunning him. I then leapt off of my drake and swung my sword down on the dwarf before he could even move. A thud resounded against the dusty red dirt as the dwarf man collapsed within a few short seconds after my blade had ran him through.

Over the years I had acquired a numbness to death, almost enjoying it, although not for the sheer sake of killing, but because it gave me a purpose. I had found that when on the battlefield was the only time I truly felt alive, using all of my wits and skills to work towards a much greater goal in making the horde into something better. And whether it was being engaged in an epic duel with a Stormwind champion or running around aimlessly terrorizing small inns and farmhouses, it was making the presence of the horde known.

Wiping my blade clean of alliance blood, I turned around to find Vortex happily making a meal of the hunter's pet. " What is it with dwarves these days having a personal vendetta against me?" I exclaimed, grinning over at the dragon and reached up to grab his reins. Hoisting myself onto his saddle I started to direct him skywards and in the general direction of Duskwood.

**2 days later**

' Finally!' I thought to myself as the lush, green treetops of Elwynn Forest started to come into view. It had been a rough two day journey through Duskwood and I loathed the journey back on the way home. The first day I made the " wise" decision to fly over the small alliance town of Darkshire. Let's just say not the best move on my part, I mean come on how was I to know that they took the job of guarding way too seriously. Resulting in an unorganized manhunt for the, and I quote " Man with the pointy ears!" according to the small human child who screamed at the top of their lungs, thus alerting the entire town of my presence. Needless to say my night and early morning was spent on the run from about twenty or so over enthusiastic guards and mindless vigilantes.

Then, when I finally got the chance to land Vortex for more than thirty minutes to get a decent bit of sleep, a whole little nest of spiders decided it would be a great time to try and eat the elf and his gargantuan size pet. The spider kabobs that I later roasted with the aid of Vortex were delicious, and I remembered waving them around while glaring to show the other spiders still in the trees what their fate would be if they tried the same move.

Which is why seeing the first sign of light was almost immediately getting me into a brighter mood. I could already envision myself wrecking havoc on the small yet busy town of Goldshire. Smiling to myself, I had Vortex climb high over the treetops to stay away from any prying eyes until the opportune moment.

**Kyra's POV:**

I awoke early that morning to the sound of faint screams and shouts in the distance. Crawling out of my small bed I made my way over to the window that overlooked the forest and small town of Goldshire. Since the cottage was in the hills it provided a great vantage point to scan the areas below and couldn't be found unless one was to actually be looking for signs of inhabitance. The sight that awaited me made me gasp, never being able to venture outside the boundaries in which I was confined to didn't mean I didn't know about the dangers in the world and what's out there.

The closest thing I got to my father was being sent a regular monthly shipment of books with information on Azeroth and the creatures in it for my studies so that when I finally, if ever came out of hiding I would be aware of what was going on and would be able to participate as an active member of the alliance. As if they actually thought I would even want to go back with the way I had been treated. Whether it be history, politics or learning etiquette I had greedily snatched up each and every book, pouring over them and absorbing all the information they had to offer. It along with observing the guards spar was my only saving grace in this hellhole.

I peered over the edge of the window to see the faint image of people running away wildly and being cut down by a lighting fast force of blinding light and a flurry of swords. There was a strange creature that I could identify from drawings in books that looked like a dragon roaring and shooting waves of fire, catching citizens and buildings alike. The blacksmith shop was in flames and I there were at least close to fifty bodies laying strewn across the streets and entrances of buildings, I dreaded to think of what the inn looked like inside. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw the Stormwind royal guard come galloping out of the city heading towards the small town. Looking back I saw that the assailant and their dragon must have heard it as well because they suddenly leapt into the sky for what looked like in search of shelter. Seeing them starting to soar in the general direction of the cottage I panicked and ran to the kitchen, the maid wasn't there so I assumed she was out at the market.

" Most likely dead by now." I muttered to myself, while frantically searching for any means of a weapon, since the attacker was flying they would most likely see the small house and guards. Finally! I found a halfway decent excuse for a means of defense, but who was I kidding, an old butchers knife versus some light wielding seasoned fighter accompanied by a fire breathing dragon. Let's face it, I am totally one hundred percent screwed! I started mentally scolding myself for such negative attitude, I mean who knows, maybe the guards can take them out.

As I was pondering the slim chances of survival that I had while standing defiantly in the middle of the kitchen clad in a blue nightgown with a butcher's knife in my hand, the door suddenly was thrown open, naturally causing me to let out a bloodcurdling scream at the top of my lungs. The door, now laying flat on the floor, hinges still swinging mind you! Was suddenly stepped over by a black and golden clad figure with splatters of blood painting the surface. Withdrawing his sword ( by the muscular and tall build it was quite apparent the figure was male) he strode towards me, his face was obscured by a shining helm, although I could see fel green orbs through the slits staring back at me along with long pointed ears coming through the helmet.

I clutched my knife while holding it out in front of me in fear, I was visibly shaking and could do nothing to prevent it. I could sense that the ends was near when something above my head caught his eye. He then lowered his sword and his gaze bore into mine, I then knew what he had seen, the royal seal of the King of Stormwind was plastered on the wall behind me as it always had been. And while I loathed much of what it stood for, the blood elf seeing that symbol saved my life that day and changed it forever.

**So that was chapter two guys! Please leave a review, any and all constructive criticism is welcome and I would also like to know what you think about the story so far! I have big plans for this storyline now that my life has finally settled down. Special thanks to Feffervesce for helping me with the inspiration for this story, and digging me out a while back of a writer's block that went on for miles. Make sure you check out her stories because they are pure awesomeness!**


	3. Perks of Having a Dragon

**Ardeth POV:**

It was quite the adrenaline rush running through Goldshire and slaugherting the varuious members of the alliance, I was surprised that Vortex decided to join in on the fun, effectively almost burning everything to a crisp in the process( Everything including nearly me), although it was hilarious nevertheless.

I was intent on continuing my mad pillaging spree on for quite a while, releasing all that pent up restlessness and anger felt good, although I heard the horn of the royal guards assembling and decided that it was time for me to leave and come back in a day or two once things die back down. After a very amusing conversation as to why I was so pale and had elongated ears, I had gotten some battle plans off of a couple drunken soldiers and quickly stuffed them in the bags on Vortex's saddle while quickly urging him to get away from the town.

While I have to admit that I am a very excellent fighter, I am not stupid and ignorant, I can take on a town of newly recruited trainees and merchants with a few traveling soldiers, although to attempt to fight fifty or so royal guards was just asking for a death wish.

As I rose into the air I spotted a small mountain range to my left and decided to see if I could seek shelter there. Drawing closer I could see a small plume of smoke coming from a secluded spot buried in between two of the hillier areas. Upon closer inspection I noticed a few of the Stormwind Royal guard standing stoically at the entrance arguing over something.

' hmmmm I wonder what they could be guarding so high up in the mountains?' I wondered

It was not long until they spotted me drawing closer and started to shout commands to each other furiously, pointing at Vortex and I. Grinning at the chance to see some more action I quickly descended. Drawing the broadsword off of my back, I started to stride forward arrogantly. It became apparent very quickly that guards had not seen real combat in a very long time, due to the fact that they were stuck guarding whatever was in that house behind them.

The first one foolishly rushed at me and swung his sword too wide, throwing him off balance and leaving me an easy opening to strike. He was dead before he hit the ground. The other four soldiers, angered by seeing their comrade fall, each let out a cry and started visously attacking me. I heard Vortex growl deeply from behind me and I fell into a crouch before the other soldiers could comprehend what was happening.

Feeling a wave of heat go over my head I glanced up to see the remaining soldiers being turned into a pile of ash at my feet. Sighing In relief at the fact I had not yet become a crispy critter, I gingerly stepped over the charred remains and made my way over to the small cottage a few dozen yards away from me. I sniggered as Vortex took great pride in shuffling his talons through the soldiers and scattering what was left of them everywhere.

" I just have one more thing left for you to do buddy." I said while pointing mischievously at the door, which was no doubt locked. Vortex happily marched past me, and promptly barreled through the door splintering it into thousands of pieces. Ahh the perks of having a dragon.

Stepping into the poorly lit room I spotted a human brandishing what looked to be a worn kitchen knife in front of her. Quickly glancing her over I noticed that the girl couldn't be out of her late teens or early twenties in human years.

Sighing, at the thought of having to waste my time on another human, I started to withdraw my sword when something caught my eye from behind the girl. What I saw made my heart stop in my chest, the royal seal of Stormwind, the seal of the king. Whatever I was getting into now there was no turning back.

Kyra Pov:

A sigh of absolute relief flooded through me when I noticed that the blood elf had recognized me to be of important value, although that relief was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of dread when I realized that my situation just could have gotten a whole lot worse. 'What if they decide torture me? Or parade my head around on a pike to show their victory? I thought to myself. There is no positive outcome that I can currently see regarding this situation.

So naturally being in the freaked out and mentally broken down state that I was at the moment, I said the first thing that popped into my head which was.

" I'm on your side!" I can't believe I just said that, out of all the things to say when faced with the option of life and death that is what I come up with? Because every young human girl just decides to announce her betrayal to some random citizen of Azeroth. I could clearly see the look of confusion consuming the face of my assaulter and I needed to find a way to dig myself out of this massive hole of stupidity that I had just created.

" I mean I may technically be a part of the oh so glorious Alliance, being Varian's useless daughter and all, but hey I mean, If being a part of the Alliance means staying locked up in this godforsaken part of the woods, seeing the same scenery and hearing the same sounds everyday for the rest of my life , then I will gladly take whatever the Horde has to offer."

I cringed as I saw a semblance of amusement start creeping up the elf's face. One of his very much so unnatural eyebrows started to raise itself in disbelief.

I have to admit by this point I was just plain out babbling, trying to come up with a plausible reason as to why a young lady such as myself would want to ally with a bunch of Orcs( A.K.A bloodthirsty war mongers, according to my books), Trolls( Voodoo practicing primitives, according to my teachings), Goblins( Greedy little buggers,that was a worldwide fact). Undead (Rotten corpses with caniblistic tendencies, not too hard to figure out). Tauren( Overly developed and intelligent cows, not the politest description) and Blood elves( Who according to the conversations of my guards, were generations of stuck up chicken riders).

Needless to say, my education on the races and background of the horde was all from very biased accounts. And I could definitely infer that this blood elf before me would be offended if I tried to include him into the chicken rider category any time soon.


	4. The Grumpy Blood Elf

Chapter 4 The Grouchy Blood Elf

**Hey guys, thank you so much for all of the positive reviews! I suddenly became really motivated once I saw this story was getting attention! So here is chapter 4, please let me know what you think, any and all comments are welcome!**

Ardeths's POV

Several different thoughts were swirling around my head when I heard the girl suddenly confess her allegiance to the Horde so suddenly. I was a bit at a loss for words on how to respond to this situation, it was not exactly outlined in my line of work to deal with emotional human girls. By this point the human standing before me looked on the verge of passing out she was talking so fast. I was having a very difficult time understanding the words that were coming out, my Common speak was not too bad for a Horde member, although I had trouble keeping up with her frenzied state. By the time she stopped to take a breath I clamped an armored hand over her mouth in an attempt to show my growing annoyance.

What happened next shocked me a little bit. Now I know I am quite a hit with many of the females back in Kalimdor, although in all of my days of flirting and pursuing women, I have never made one faint before. Which explained my mass confusion upon having a hysterical human simply crash into my arms like a ton of bricks.

I gingerly picked up the girl and called for Vortex to come over. If a dragon could smirk he would be right now, I could just imagine what I looked like. Tall, lean armored Paladin who has faced more enemies than the warchief himself, yet I was holding a limp human at arms length, treating it like a poisonous snake. Not one of my finer moments in life.

After I finished strapping the still unconscious human to Vortex's saddle I took out a map and started planning our journey back to Orgrimmar. Unfortunatly, thanks to the extra baggage I now have acquired, my original plan of simply using my teleport to get back to the capital was not going to work. And jug Looking at the map I decided the best way would be to go back through Duskwood( what a joy) and into Stranglethorn until we reached Booty Bay, from there we could get a ship to Rachet and fly the rest of the way to Orgrimmar. Looking at the distance we would have to travel I groaned inwardly. I was looking at around a weeks worth of travel, and on top of that, trying not to get caught by a Horde or Alliance with a human on my hands until we reached the Warchief. This was going to be a very stressful journey.

Kyra POV:

I awoke to the strange feeling of gliding, feeling wind all around me and the faint flapping of wings I jolted awake. Much to my surprise I found myself strapped to a saddle on the back of some ungodly creature with my hands bound in front of me. Peering down I could see the treetops of Elwynn Forest beneath me and I quickly averted my gaze, the shock of being up so high almost too much for my stomach to handle.

From behind me I heard a deep laughter followed by" Ah so she has finally risen from her spectacular fainting episode!"

That was when it all came crashing back to me and I remembered who it was that was currently sitting directly behind me, who's arms were on both sides of me in order to hold the reins of the monstrosity who's back I was flying upon.

This was the blood elf who stormed into my little alcove earlier today! Thinking back to earlier, my face unconsciously turned a shade of red due to the way I had reacted in that pressure filled situation. I had no intention of simply passing out although I was so stressed and in fear of my life, that I guess my mind decided to just zone out and see what happened. I was full of questions as to what was going on and I needed answers, even if I was a captive of this strange man and his gargantuan sized pet.

" Who are you?" I found myself asking.

"Name is Ardeth Bladefury, and feel free to ask whatever you want, this high up you can't tell anyone else, and if I'm caught with you in Alliance territory, I am most likely going to end up dead anyway." He replied with a tired sound to his voice.

Wow, I started thinking, could his accent be any more attractive? And I started silently reprimanding myself for acting like such a dingbat over a nice voice. But hey, come on if you had lived for twenty years hearing the same old voice you would think that Common spoken with a Thassilan accent was pretty hot as well!

" Where are we going?" I inquired

" Well the only place that I can think to take you if you really are determined on becoming a member of the Horde is Orgrimmar. And believe me it's not going to be any walk in the park trying to convince Garrosh that you are not a fraud. In fact you will be lucky to make it past the front gates, if we even get there, I'm sure that by now the king has been alerted of your absence and we are being hunted right now. Trust me sweetheart, I would have much rather of ended your happy little life back in the middle of nowhere, and continued on my merry little way of pillaging and taking a break from the immediate battle front. But no! Now I'm here and stuck transporting said king's daughter or some form of relative across Azeroth, and hoping that you can actually be of some use to the Horde I initiative and not just trying to weasel your way into having my trust!"

I sat there patiently as Ardeth went on his rant about my apparent inconvient presence and started thinking about how this was not one of the best choices I had ever made, although when faced with this or immediate death, I will take the currently grouchy Blood Elf any day of the week.

A few hours later we landed on the bank of the river dividing Elwynn Forest and Duskwood to refill the waterskin. I was allowed to dismount Ardeth's dragon( who's name was apparently Vortex) and stretch my legs since there was really no point in me running if I wanted to even have a chance of surviving. Casting a sideways glance at my "escort" I saw that he had very sharp features along with pale skin, (a blood elf characteristic I assumed) and ebony hair that was swept back into an elegant yet masculine pony tail. I could see etchings that symbolized power in the light in his red and gold armor, and assumed that by his broadsword, heavy armor and warrior's stance that he was most likely a paladin.

I found myself wondering how old he actually was, he had a youthful appearance, although it left me wondering, since according to my teachings, elves do not age nearly as fast as other races do. Considering asking Ardeth how old he was, I began to open my mouth, although decided against it after remembering the foul mood he had been in most of the flight. At this point I was pretty sure he was talking to the dragon more than he was me, I swear the beast could understand every word he said, and it was a bit unnerving to say the least.

Glancing down in the water I grimaced a bit upon seeing my bedraggled state, still wearing a dress that I absolutely loathed ( that upon my descent form Vortex's back had gotten hooked on several of his spikes) and seeing my once perfectly combed red hair hanging limply, with streaks of dirt across my face along with redness from windburn and sun. Needless to say I did not even remotely look like I could be related to the royal family, which now In my mind at least, I wasn't.

I looked back over to Ardeth who was just finishing with strapping the water skins onto the saddle, and noted with a tinge of annoyance how he didn't appear to have a hair out of place, while I on the other hand looked like I had been dragged through a blacksmith's furnace backwards.

Ardeth motioned for me to get back in the saddle and I trudged back over, wearily eyeing the other side of the river bank, where the density of trees was considerably more so, and the light seemed to not be able penetrate more than a few feet from the treetops.

" How long will it take to get through Duskwood? I asked nervously.

" About a day until we reach Stranglethorn, so unfortunately we will have to be spending the night there as well, although at least it's contested territory, and not strictly Alliance owned." Ardeth replied with a hint of unease in his voice as well. I found it slightly amusing that he seemed to loath Duskwood more than he did the Alliance infested Goldshire.

As we began our journey into Duskwood, I could of sworn that I heard him muttering behind me something about the wretched spiders in these woods having no respect for swords or dragons. Having absolutely no idea what he meant, I decided to wait and see.


	5. Nightmares Can Be Just As Real

**AN- Here it is...finally! Chapter 5 has finally arrived and the struggles of writer's block have officially been eradicated! I have a plot line layed out and you can expect to start seeing regular updates once or twice a week from here on out. I am back in business and ready to go! This chapter is trying on some character development and you will get to see some of Ardeth's past.**

**Arya POV**  
>A few hours had passed by and we were about halfway through Duskwood. It was getting late, and even though it's pretty useless to try and tell the time from the position of the sun in this place, my drooping eyes were starting to tell me it was most definitely time for me to get off this dragon and get some sleep. Because for some reason I cannot mentally handle the concept of voluntarily falling asleep hundreds of feet up in the air, yet I would somehow find solace on the forest floor of overgrown spiders and wolves. About an hour or so ago I tried suggesting to Ardeth that we land, although he very rudely informed me that if I valued my life that I would not go within an hours reach of Darkshire. Apparently he is very infamous with the locals in these parts. Yay for me.<br>Clearing my throat I glanced over my shoulder and asked Ardeth if he had found a suitable place to land yet. I think he must have seen the look of absolute exhaustion that was present on my face because he replied that now was a good point to stop anyways so we can be well rested for the next day.

Gliding over the treetops we slowed as Vortex looked for a suitable place in which he could land. Finding a clearing he decided to go into a nosedive and came down a little too fast, causing a jolt when we hit the ground. I practically leapt off the dragon with glee. Although regretted my desision immediately upon the protests of my leg muscles from being cooped up in the same position all day. Wincing, I waited for Ardeth to dismount and find a place to make camp for the night in a place that was well covered and couldn't be found easily from above. Glancing around me I shivered at the shadows and sinister looking trees that loomed over us. Up until this point I had been feeling pretty good about the whole situation I was in. Although reality was finally settling in now that I realized that there was no warm fireplace and soft, safe bed for me to sleep in tonight.

"Hey why don't you stop looking like a frightened deer and help set up for the night!" Ardeth called from a little ways in front of me. Effectively snapping me out of my trance and causing me to hobble over to him, carefully trying not to irritate my severely pissed off legs. "Sorry, it's just that you really were not kidding when you said this place was creepy!" I said to him once I made it over to where he was unpacking some of the supplies from Vortex's saddlebags. He handed me a sleeping mat and I gratefully took it, feeling bad that he only had one and that he would be on the solid ground tonight. I made a promise in my mind that after I got a good night's sleep, I would try my best to not be a burden starting tommorow morning. Grunting a quick goodnight to each other, I watched Ardeth scout out a quick perimeter check before falling asleep within a few minutes.

**Ardeth POV**  
>Watching the human across from me, I stared off into the dark listening to the erie howls of worgens in the distance and the scuffle of the creatures that inhabited the forest. My mind was going a thousand miles a minute, I didn't know what to think of the recent events and complete and total mess my life had now become. I know that the situation I am in is a very precarious one. The girl who claims to be Wrynn's daughter seems to have strength and courage within her, which is important if she wants to survive. But the issue still lies with Garrosh and the rest of the Horde. Many (including me) hate humans with a passion and would not hesitate to kill them, but this one seems different. For some reason, I am not filled with rage, but the sense that I need to protect and train this girl in front of me. The complete loyalty of Arya would be a massive blow to the Alliance, but that all depends on if we can pull this off.<p>

The first thing on my list is to teach the girl some basic combat skills, because from what I can see, the twigs for arms she currently has will do a whole lot of nothing in a real fight. Mulling over that in my head, I also came to the conclusion that there was no way the dress she was sporting was going to last much longer. Between the travel on Vortex's back and the introduction of mud, branches and bugs, the poor piece of fabric's days were numbered. So that meant that the next outpost I get too, I would have to purchase some cheaply made armor or traveling clothes. (Great...more money I don't have). Along with the severe need for a complete wardrobe change, I also concluded that it would be a wise idea to start teaching the girl some basic phrases in Orcish and Thassalin so she could communicate once we reached the city. After a while longer of planning and going over thoughts in my head I started to feel my mind drift off, and elected to call it a night, knowing that if anything serious happens Vortex would most likely effectively burn whatever the offending creature was to a crisp.

**Arya POV**

Hearing a cry reach my ears I jolted awake with wide eyes, frantically searching around me for the the source of the sound. That's when I realized there was no real physical danger, just that of the mind. I let my gaze shift to Ardeth's sleeping form, his face was contorted in one of pain and grief, silent sobs seemed to be wracking his unconscious state. I was majorly confused at the sight before me, just hours before, the being before me showed no weakness or slight chink in his armor, and here he was, seemingly distraught and horror filled. Deciding to go against my mind screaming at me that it was a bad idea and I needed to stop, I slowly got up and reached my hand out to lightly shake him awake from the nightmare he was having.

To be fair I should have seen this one coming, seasoned killer, used to traveling alone and makes their living off of fighting, most people wouldn't even consider trying to offer a helping hand to a figure like that. Which is why exactly two seconds later I found myself with a mouthful of dirt, a knee digging into my back and a very sharp knife pressing against my neck. Letting out a muffled cry of annoyance and fear, I felt the weight on my back gone and I found I could breath again(ah the simple things in life). Gasping for air I drew myself up and in a very unladylike manner spat out a mouthful of dirt and leaves after being so unceremoniously shoved/tackled to the ground. Looking up at Ardeth I saw a mixture of confusion as to why I woke him up and anger from his quick realization as to what I had witnessed.

"What in Hellfire were you doing!?" He shouted at me.

Drawing myself up I stood tall and relplied " Well I'm sorry, but I saw that you were having a nightmare, and what looked to be a pretty terrifying one at that, so I tried to be nice about it and wake you up so you didn't have to go through any more pain! But apparently that was the wrong thing to do!" I spat angrily back at him.

A look of understanding dawned on his face, followed by one of sadness, and I instantly felt guilty for shouting at him when he seemed to be under so much stress. After a long stretch of silence on both of our ends, it looked like he had come to a decision and I started to prepare for what he had to say.

" I'm sorry that you had to see all of that, I rarely ever have things like that happen to me, although when they happen it's never a simple thing." Holding up his hand he signaled for me to stay quiet for a moment.

"I know you are going to ask questions so I will just go ahead and explain it for you. When I was a young child, I was away at training in old Silvermoon City, although while I was there was the day the scourge attacked. I was practicing my swordsmanship when I started hearing screams from the neighboring town. Then guards started pouring from everywhere and running to aid in whatever was the cause of the shouting. My first thought was my family, and I stole my master's mount and raced as fast as I could home."

A pained look took over his face. "Although I took too long, my childhood home was on the outskirts, where the scourge could attack with little retaliation and by the time I got there the place was razed to ground. My home was gone and my mother and sisters mutilated beyond recognition. I just remember kneeling there for hours asking why and trying to understand. To this day it haunts me and that is my only weakness, which is why I became a Paladin, the very thing that the scourge hate, although I have now learned to give no mercy, for in the real world you will receive none."

I stared at Ardeth in awe, wondering how someone could go through that much pain in their life. " Thank you for sharing that with me, I can't imagine what you must have went through, but I hope that you never have to experience that again, because I know that sometimes nightmares can be just as bad as real life."

I responded with that, desperately hoping that it was enough to not make him feel uncomfortable that he just revealed his past to a person that he had known a grand total of one day. With that story heavy in my mind I bid him goodnight for the second time that night and fell asleep, this time deep in thought with the trials that would lay ahead on the path to come.

**AN- Thank you for reading, and remember that any and all comments are welcome, if you have any suggestions for me I would be glad to here them, I am always trying to improve and constructive criticism is welcome!**


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